Fuelled by a blistering front nine that included two eagles, Sweden’s Ludvig Åberg charged two strokes clear of the field in the second round of The Players Championship.
The 26-year-old, a two-time winner on the PGA Tour whose most recent victory came at last year’s Genesis Invitational, fired a superb nine-under-par 63 on a sun-splashed afternoon at TPC Sawgrass for a 12-under total.
That left him two ahead of two-time major champion Xander Schauffele, who had set the pace in the morning wave with a seven-under, 65.
Cameron Young was alone in third at nine under for the tournament, after carding a six-birdie 67, while Canada’s Corey Conners (67) and 2021 Players champion Justin Thomas (68) were a further stroke back at eight under.
Åberg, whose best PGA Tour finish this season was a tie for third at last week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational, made an electrifying start to the second round. He birdied the first, eagled the par-5 second by sinking a 15-foot putt and picked up further shots at the third and fourth.
He then added another eagle at the par-5 ninth, where he chipped in from light rough just short of the green, to reach the turn at a sensational seven-under and in a tie for the lead with Schauffele.
Åberg briefly moved one ahead with a two-putt birdie at the par-5 11th before slipping back with a bogey at the par-4 15th. Undaunted though, he reeled off additional birdies at the par-5 16th and the par-4 18th, where he struck his approach to eight feet, to end his day with a two-stroke advantage.
World number two and defending champion Rory McIlroy, looking to shrug off a back injury that led to his withdrawal from last week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational, experienced another day of frustration with a one-under 71. That left him at one-over for the tournament, just one stroke inside the cut line.
Top-ranked American Scottie Scheffler, bidding for a third victory at The Players Championship, was also out-of-sorts for much of the second round as he eked out a 73 to finish level with McIlroy.
Jason Day is the best placed Australian in the field, in a tie for 17th after shooting two-under in the second round, leaving him four-under overall.
Among Australia’s early starters, Min Woo Lee fired a two-under 70 that leaves him at two under. It proved a real mixed bag of a round for the 27-year-old, as his seven birdies were offset by five bogeys.
Veteran Adam Scott recorded a second consecutive level-par 72 to make the cut but Karl Vilips had a calamitous 79, featuring two double-bogeys and one triple, which ensured a weekend off.
Reuters/AAP